Stamp-affixer.



G. B. SMITH & I. ROBBINS.

STAMP APFIXER.

APPLIGITION FILED nc.6,1906.

Patented Oct. 27', 1908.

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STAMP AFFIXEP. APPLICATION FILED D110. 6, 1906.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

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GfB. SMITH da I. ROBBINS.

STAMP AFFIXER.

APPLICATION FILED DIGI s, 190e.

902,179. Patented 0015.211908,

a'sHEETs-sHEBT s proveniente in St'ainp-Aiixers, of which the GOODWINB. SMITH AND IRA ROBBINS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

. STAMP-AFFIXER. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct. 27, 1908.

Application led December 6, 1906. Serial No. 3&6,685.

of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,

haveinvented certain new and useful lnifollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improved portable hand stamp or, label affixinen inachine and has for its object the provision of .an improved device oi this character coinprising mechanism for feeding the stamps or vlabels from a roll; means for niois'tening or vinucilaoing said stamps and means for ressing said` stamps into engagementwith t e object to which the stamp is to be aiixed.

A further object of the invention is thepro-v vision of an improved magazine for a inachine of this character constructed in such manner that said magazine may only be ppened by an authorized person possessing a rey. i

vision o'i' an improved cutting mechanism comprising a fixed cutting knife and a movable cutting knife, one of said knives-being yieldingly mounted with relation to the other'. A further object of the invention is the provision of a vertically movable plunger having a head mounted upon a universal joint.

` Further objects and advantages of the in vention *will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows:

ln the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portable hand stamp or label aliixer constructed in accordance with the iiivei'ition. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the machine. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section upon line .1" a' of Fig. 4 is a detail )lan view of the feeding and inoistening rol and the moistening receptacle upon which they are mounted.

is a horizontal section upon line i/ z/ of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is ai detail view of a ratchet hereinafter described. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through said ratchet, and Fig. is a detail vieu' of a cross-head hereinafter described.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all oiA the iigures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the base of the macliine. vEX- tending from this base are the vertical ineinfurther object of the invention is the pro- Fig. 5v

bers 6 of the frame, said verticalfineinbers having ways 7 formed therein. Slidably disposed in these ways for vertical movement, is a cross head 8, said cross head being carried upon the ,lower end of a hollow rod 9. A handle 1() is threaded upon the upper endof this hollow rod. A spring 11 bears at its lower end against a washer 12 and at its upper end against a plug 13, the head of said lug bearing against the underside of the iziandle 10. The washer 12 is supported by a `pin 14 which passes through the boss 15 of the freine. As is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the hollow rod 9 is slidably disposed in this boss and the cross head 8 which is carried upon the lower end ofthe rod, is mounted for slidable movement, as has been before stated, in the ways 7. The hollow rod 9 is slotted as ati16, the pin 14 passing through these slots. A knife 17 is mounted upon forwardly extending nienibei's 13, said members being in turn pivotally mounted upon a pin 19 carried by the cross head 8.- Arod 21 passes through an opening 22 of the depending lower end of the .hollow rod 9 and has an enlarged head 24 which bears against the knife. A sprinO 23 bears between the depending lower en of the rod Q and said enlarged head 24 of this pin. A nut 25 is threaded upon the outer end of the bolt to provide ineens for adjusting said bolt, as will be hereinafter set forth. The depending lower end of the hollow rod 9 is provided with a ball head 26. Screws 27 secure a presser head 23 upon the ball head 2G, said screws yviaesiner through the presser head and entering plates 29 which engage the reduced neck 3() of the ball head.

The base 5 has a dove-tailed recess 31 formed therein for the reception 0i a receptacle 32 (see Fig. 3). This receptacle after Ahaving been placed in position inay be locked against accidental movement by a set screw 34 which is threaded into alug 35 ofthe base 5. Fast upon a shaft 36 which' passes transversely through this receptacle is a meistening or inn cilagin roll 37, while fast upon the outer end of sai( shaft is a pinionp38. This n'ioistening or niucilaging roll has aa series of grooves 39 foi-ined thereui for the reception of the ineniber 40 of a cap plate 41. A plate 42 has resilient lingers 43 which extend over the cap plate 41and over-lie the front ed e of, the receptacle 32 and serve a purpose w `ch will be hereinafter set forth. A sponge 44 is which will be hereinafter described.

stamps.

. able.

adapted to inoisten the .roll 37 if stamps are gumined, said roll in turn inoistenin the stamps as will be hereinafter describe( and if the stamps are not gumined, imieilage oi' other similar material is put in`thc receptacle 32. The side members 45 are pivoted in ears 46 of the receptacle 32 by means of a ro'd 47 which passes through said side members and into said ears. A feed roll 48 is mounted upon a shaft 49, said shaft being in turn mounted in the upper ends of arms 50, the inner ends of said. arms being pivoted as at 51 to the ears 46. A guide rod 52 is carried by the side members 45 as will be hereinafter described. l/Vhen the arms 50 are swung over to the position illustrated in Fig. 2, pins 53 rest in recesses 54 formed in the side members 45. At this time a pinion 55 which is mounted upon the shaft 49, meshes With the pinion 38 ofthe shaft 36. It is preferred that the shafts 49 and 36 be readily' remov- To this end said shafts are inserted loosely in their bearings, andare held from displacement by the friction between the pinions 45 and 38 and the associated parts.

In disassembling the parts when it is desired to remove the pinions 55 and 38, the respective shafts 49 and 36 are given a slight axial blow which displaces them in .an endwise direction.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that a guide bar 56 is-arranged across the front of the receptacle and that the stamps indicated at 57 pass beneath said guide bar.. Secured by a screw 58 to thefront wall of the receptacle, is a knife 59 havinen a cutting edge 60 with which the cutting edjge of the knife 17 is adapted to eo-act. Upon each side of the receptacle 32, the knife 59 has an upwardly extending ortion 61 having its outer face slightly beve ed as at 62 for a pur lpse en the rece tacle 32 is slid into position in the dove-tai ed ways 31, the free end of a spring 63 overlies the end of the arm 50 to hold the feed roller firmly into engagement with the A spool 64 is mounted upon a pintle 65, said pintlcprojeeting'from the side wall 66 of a casing 67. This pintle projects through the wall 66 and has a nut 68 threaded upon its outer end,v said pintle being adapted to be detachablyreceivcd ing.; bifurcatcd portion 69 of an extension 70 of the frame 6, whereby, when ythe nut 68 is loosened thecasing 67 with its associated parts maly be removed as an entirety.

`lie stamps 57 'are wound u on the spool 64, are then threaded beneath t e rod 52, between tl'ie rollers 48 and 37 beneath the guide bar 56 and over the cutting edge 60 of the knife 59. and 5 one side of the casing 67 is closed by a. removable plate 71 which has a central opening 7 2 formed therethrough fo' the reception ol' the end of the pintle 65, and which has an As is best illustrated in Figs. 3

annular' i'ange 73 which enters the easing 67. locking pin 74 is carried by the plaie 75, said plate being secured to the plate 73. This locking pin enters eliannel 76 of a lugr 77 which is secured to the bottoni of the easing 67. The locking pin 74 is recessed iis at 78 for the. reception ot' the free end ol a spring tongue 79. When the eap plate is pl'aeed in position, the head 80 Voi" the locking pin 74 snaps behind the spring tongue. to prevent the removal olt the cup plate 73 and to eonsequently prevent the removal ol' the sta-rips.

Vhen it is desired lo refill the magazine formed bythe easing 67 andthe parts carried thereby, a properly authorized person' provided with a key 81, may, by inserting said' key in the key hole channel S2, which lies parallel with the Channel 76, litt the spring tongue 79 by turning said key to cause the ward of said ke f to engage said spring tongue, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 5.

lt is of course av parent that soine means must be provided 01' intermittently feeding the stamps forward and the mechanism for doing this will now be described. By referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that. a stub shaft- 83 is carried by the extension 70 of the. frame. Mounted upon the stub shaft is a gear wheel 84 which has its tace recessed as shown in Fig. 7. A ratchet 86 which is cut away as at 87, 88v and 89 for the reception of balls 490 is mounted upon a sleeve 91 .which is integral with the ear wheel 84. S rings 92 normally tendD to force these ba s into engagement with theinner periphery of the gear wheel 84. A screw which is threaded into the outer end of the stub shaft 83 has an Ienlarged head which holds the gear wheel 84 in position and bears against a segmental gear wheel 93 which is connected by a pin 94 with the ratchet 86 and holds said segmental ear wheel and said ratchet'. in position.

he gear wheel 84 mesheswith an idler piriion 95 which is supported by the frame, said idler pinion in turn meshing with the pinion 55. An arm 96 which is carried by the cross head and moves vertically therewith, has a rack 9'7 formed thereon which meshes with thel teeth 98 of the segmental gear 93. yA finger 99 which is carried by the segmental gear, is adapted to contact with the resilient finger 100 as will be hereinafter described.

This resilient ringer 100` is niounted'upon a through the extension 106 of the brake meinb'er, the lower end 107 of this set screw being vada ted by striking upon the upper portion of t e arm 96 to limit the upward movement of said arm for a purpose which will' be here-` inafter desrrihed. A thumb iece 108 which is threaded upon the screw, 'forms a locking nut for locking said `set screw against accidental movement after it has once vbeen set. The operation of the device is as follows: With the parts in the )ositioii 4illustrated in F 1, the machine is placed upon the article, such as a letter to which the stamp is to be affixed. The operator then strikes a sl'iarp` blow upon the handle 10, depressing sa'd handle against the tension of the spring f1 and consequently forcing the crosshead downward. During the` initial downward movement of this cross head, the arm 96 turns tric ratchet 86 forward without 'moving the gear wheel 84, through the rack97 and the segmental gearr wheel. 93. After the ratchet has been turned forward the proper distance, the rack 97 moves out of en agement with the segmental gear wheel an said segmental gear wheel remains stationary during the further downward movement of the presser head. 28. As this downward movement continues, the knife 17 coacting with the knife 59, cuts off lthe stamp which is -to be affixed, said` knife 17 yielding when its cutting edge com es into enga ement with the beveled surface 61 of thekn' e 59, this yield- Ying motion of the knife 17 causing said knife to be firmly pressed a ainst the knife 59 at all times'to secure an e cient shearing or cnt ting of the stamp. A set screw 109 limits the ,upward movement of the knife 17, a pin 110 passing through the lower end of the rod 9 andra boss 8/ of the cross head to secure said arts together'. `When the handle l() is reeased, the spring 11 forces said handle upwai'dly, the rack 97 again coming into mesh with. the segmental gear Wheel and turning the ratchet 86 to the right in Fig. 6. This causes the balls 96 to bind between the cutaway portions of the ratchet and the inner periphery of tlie gear wheel 86gand causes said gear wheel to turn with the ratchet. This movement of the gear wheel in turn imparta movement tothe left to the idler pinion imparts movement to the right to the pinion 55 and imparts movement to the left to the pinion 3S. rl`he feed' roll 48 and` the dampening or miicilaging rolll 37l ce -act'to feed another stamp into osition to beirut off by the knife, the roll 37 ainpening orrjrnucilaging the underside of the stamp as this is done. either in'ucilage or water, in the firstinstance for use in connection with uninueilaged stamps and in 'the latter instance for use with mucilaged stamps, in accordance with `the circumstances.

lt will he seen by referring to Fig. 1 that as soon as thescrew limits the upward ni ovement of the arm 96, it also limits the movement of the rack 97 andof the gear wheelsand pinions.` It accordingly limits the ex- The receptacle 32 may contain' tent to which the web of stamps 5T shall -bc fed forward and provides means for adjusting this feed, for it may be desirable at times to When in the upward movement of the arm 96,

it contacts with the lower end 107 of the pin 105, it tends to lift said pin and does lift it for a very slight distance. In lifting this in, however, it lifts the extension 106 of the rake member and rocks said brake-member upon its pivot 102, which brings the face 104 o the brake member into engagement with the ends of the teeth of. the gear wheel S4 and immediately brings said gear wheel to a stop and prevents it from being,r thrown J farther around than its predetermined distance. Upon the downward movement of the arni 96, which is of course a very rapid one, the spring finger 100 serves to retard the movement of the segmental gear wheel 93 to prevent it from being thrown farther than is intended, for the finger 99 contacts with said spring finger at about the end of the movement of the seemeiital gear wheel.

When it is desireif to remove the meistening or mucilage receptacle for the purpose of dampening the s onge, filling it with niucilagc, or for any ot er reason, the set screw 34 is loosened and the rece )tacle is slid from the rear of the frame. T ie roller 4S may then he swung hack to the position illustrated in Fig. 4. This brings the pins over the outer ends of the members 15. By pressing downward upon the roller 4S, these members 45 may be rocked upon their pivots tozlift the cover late 41 to thereby eigpose the interior of3 the receptacle. The sponge may then he removed or dampened as desired". Aside from these features, the interior of the receptacle and the associated parte are exposed so that ready access may e had thereto for cleansing purposes. ln

the cleansing operation it is simply necessary" torhold the exposed parts under a faucet.

It will bereadily apparent from the foregoinodescription that in packing the device for szhipment the presser may be moved to its lowerinost position and held in such position by suitable means soas to reduce any -the size of t e mechanism and the space occu ied'thereby.

he base 5 and side portions 6 of the frame are preferably made in one piece to reduce the expense of manufacture. rlhe receptacle 32 and the rollers 37 and 48 are preferably iliade of iion-corrosive metal such as phosphor bronze., to resist the action of the water and gum.

v IVbat wev claim is, A

l. [n a stamp afiixer, it reciprocatory plunger, a. knife 'carried thereby, said knife being pivotally mounted, and adjustinfi means adapted to apply pressure to said knife in a direction longitudinally of the path of movement of said plunger.

2. In a stamp allixer, a stam magazine comprising a su istantially cylin( rical casiniy closed at one end, a rod or pintle disposed centrally of said casing" and secured to said closed end, a closure adapted to iit over the open end of said cylindrical casing, and key controlled locking means adapted to maintain. said closure in place.

3. In a stamp alfixer, a liquid reservoir, a slotted plate pivoted thereto and a grooved roller havin portions thereof extending within said s ots, substantially as described.

4. In a stamp affixer, a liquid reservoir, a roller disposed therein, a slotted late piv- 'otally mounted and disposed a ove said roller, and a fee lroller mounted in a pivoted frame, said feed roller being ada ted and arranged to feed stamps over sait plate, and in contact `With said first. named roller.h

5. In as stamp ailixei, a reciprocatory plunger, a rack carried thereby, a segine'ntal gear adapted to engage said rack during a portion only of its movement, and means to adjustably limit the movement of said rack in one direction while the latter is ineiigagement with the 'said gear.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination With a supporting frame, of a inoistening or mucilaging receptacle removably mounted in said'fraine, feeding and dampening rolls mounted u pon said rece tacle and removable therewith, a vertical y movable stamp pressing member, a knife carried by the. moistening receptacle, and a second knife carriedfby the stam pressing member and adapted to ,co-act Wit 'the first named knife, the last named knife being yieldinrrly mounted with relation to the first namedmite, and means for varying tbe tension of said knife.

7. In a device of thev character described, the combination with a supporting frame, of a vertically movable stamp pressing mechanism, a moistening receptacle, feeding and moistening rolls mounted upon' said receptacle, a ratchet connection between said feeding and moistening i'olls and the stamp pressing mechanism, and a brake mechanism for said ratchet l mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation upon the end of the upst-roke of the stamp pressing mechanism.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a supporting frame, of a vertically movable stamp ressing mech` anisiii, a iiioistening or miici aging receptaeIe, feeding and moistening rolls mounted upon said receptacle, a ratchet connection between said feeding and moiste'ning rolls and t-lie stamp pressing mechanism, and a brake mechanism for said ratchet. mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation at I each eii'd of the movement of the ratchet mechanism. 9. In a stamp atfixer, a reciprocatory plunger, a rack carried thereby, a segmental gear l adapted to engage said rack during a ortion i only of its movement, a finger carried y said L gear adapted to engage a suitable stop to check the movement of said gear When it is disengaged from said rack, a gear'wheel connected with said segmental gear through the medium of a clutch, whereby said gear Wheel is rotated only in one direction to feed and ,moistening rollers actuated by said gear Wheel,` substantially as described.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination with a stamp pressing meching mechanism and movable therewith, said stamp mechanism reciprocating vertically, means for normally holding said stamp pressconnected thereto which mes with each other, a. gear Wheel, gearing between said gear Wheel and the feeding roll, a ratchet mechanism adapted to impart movement to said gear Wheel in one direction, and a sevinental gear connected to said ratchet mec ,anism with which said rack meshes, anda set screw adapted to vary and limit the upward movement of the stain i pressing mechanism and consequently of tlie rack.

plunger, rotative means actuate by the movement of said plunger to advance a of, a brake adapted to positively check the movement of said rotative means and means Acarried by said plunger adapted to engage pletion of the movement of said plungerv lin one direction.

12. In a stamp afxer, a reciprocatory plunger, a knife. carried thereby, rotative stamp strip into the path oi movement of said knife, and a friction brake actuated b said plunger and adapted tn positively cliec plunger in one direction.

13. In a stamp ai'lixer, a reciprocatory plunger, a knife carried thereby, .rotative means actuated by said plunger to advance a staiinpA strip into the path ot'1 movement of san said plunger,- and a brake actuated by'said plunger w ien 'it reaches the upward limitr of anism, ot' a rack carried by said stamp press- 11. In a stamp aflixcr, a reci rocatory.

stamp strip into the path of movement there;

said bra-ke and throw it into braking rela#v tion with said rotative means upon the comt means actuated by said plunger to advance a' the movement of said rotative means upon.` the complet-ion of the movement of said,

ing mechanism in an elevated position, feed ing and moisteiiing rolls havingx-gear Wheels nite upon. the upward movement of 15 comprising a raising prov its path of movement, adapted to positively chock the movement of said rotative means. 14. In astamp all'xer, a reciprocatory plunger, a. rack carriedthereby, a segmental gear adapted to engage such rack during a portion only of ith` movement, means operable by said gear to advance a stamp into the path of movement of stop and u finger carried by sind segmento geur and adapted to vent the rotation of tion, independently tin-.Uy as dcscrilmd.

15. In o stamp nflixer,

sind gear, in one direcided with a. rod or said plunger, a sprinf engage said stop to prci n of sind rack, snbstana stamp magazine l ported by one end sure havin tion of sai( E adapted and arranged or pin'tle, and close the stantially as described tures in presence of lWitnesses I E. (1. UNDERHI 1 v M. V. KELLY.

of said cqslng and a cloanopemng therein for the receprod or pintle said closure bein fit over the said ro sind magazine, sub- In testimony whereof we aliix our signatwo Wltnesses.

GooDWIN B. SMITH. IRA RoBBINs. 

